The car was driven as quick as a gust of wind. After mere one hour’s journey, we had been far away from the dusty and noisy town. The breeze was softly blowing to our faces together with a faint sweet-smell. The smell was presenting from time to time at first. Then, it came to be clearer and clearer. We felt as if it was not simply coming through our nostrils but penetrating to our inner organs. I found the smell was very familiar, but I hardly remembered what it was?
“Look, Lotuses!” my younger sister cried out. Along her pointed direction, we found a spectacular scene and all shouted out simultaneously! “ Wow! My God, so many lotuses there!”.
Downward the dyke there were endless lotuses with dark GREen leaves and pink flowers around us.
The leaves were swaying in the wind just like green waves surging from the horizon to the dyke base. The waves were dazzling with their constant changing from dark green to pale white for the leaves turning the faces and backs over and over again. At the far end, the green leaves repeatedly fell down, while the pink flowers were looked like slowly rising up, due to the flowers stems borne less wind load and had less bending, which looked like clouds of red mists slowly rolling up from the blue sea.
The most remarkable thing was the sound of lotus wave. It was a real sound of nature. It started from the horizon and as soft as mothers’ sleeping song to their babies in cradles, gradually it became as strong as a symphony and shocked our souls intensively.
In the mean time, a shoal of egrets were soaring beneath the blue welkin. Sometimes, they stretched their long feet to lurk into or perch on the lotus leaves, sometimes, they fluttered their wings and launched to the sky with cheerful singing, which added a dynamic rhyme upon this idyllic scene.
“Should we take off the car and go down the dyke for a close look?” my elder sister suggested. “ Good idea!” we all responded loudly and came to the bank.
Under close look, I found the lotus leaves were as big as umbrellas. Some old ones changed the color from dark green to blight blue just as the color of mined hsiuyen jade, which gave us a deep and imposing feeling. Lots of dewdrops were still held on their palms. Under the breeze, the little water balls, as shining as diamonds, were rolling from side to side. Some of them even ran out of the leaf brims and dropped to the water generating silvery sounds like chord.
Among the well grown leaves there were lots of young curling sprout, which were as bright and fresh as Burma jade. Perhaps it was the adolescent charming that attracted so many dragonflies’ harassment with their hesitate perching and kissing.
Above all, the things interested me most were those outstanding lotus flowers. They were proudly standing in the waves and pointed to the sky without any modifying branch or leaf. Their moderate pink color was neither too brave nor too flaunting. Their smell was faint but very impressive. When they were in buds, they were always dressing themselves with pink points glinting on pale green bases, which looked like shying girls before marriage. However, when they were blooming, the bright petals holding golden pistils and water droplets, and were constantly emitting emotional impact to us. When wind was blowing, they resonated the rhythm of lotus waves and gently swung. They generously contributed their beauty to modify the solemn atmosphere of dark green. The whole lotus sea was vivified by their presentation.
I was completely intoxicated and emotionally stuck on the wonderful scene until sunset befalling, when the sinking sun was goldenly glinting on the sky, the lotus sea and us. It created a spectacular harmony in both the spiritual and real worlds.
2006.6.8
去年夏天，为纪念我父亲的百岁诞辰，我和我远在云贵的兄长先后回到了久违的家乡与在家的姐妹们重逢。散落在天南海北的手足聚首，自然有说不尽的喜悦和感触。设坛祭奠了亡父的百岁吉辰后，姐妹们念及我难得回家，提议租车环县旅游。把家乡的景物看个够。位于县城西北的鄱阳湖自然是我们的首选。
车行如风，不到一个小时的旅程就使我们脱离了小城的污浊和喧嚣。扑面而来的凉风带来了一阵阵沁人心脾的清香。那香味似有还无，从鼻孔里直钻入你的五脏六腑。使人回肠荡气，飘飘欲仙。那感觉似曾相识。可任凭我搜肠刮肚，却怎么也无发从记忆里找回它的踪迹。……
“看，荷花！”身边的二妹突然脱口尖叫起来。顺着她的手指朝车外望去，嗬！好一片无穷无尽的碧叶红花！我们不禁为眼前的景象所震慑住了。
但见我们的周围，是一片溟溟漠漠的莲荷世界。上接蓝天，下接湖堤。微风起处，掀起万重波涛，时红时碧，忽绿忽白。更有那荷声如涛，浑厚隽永。由远及近，如天籁般动人心魄。
在蓝天和碧波之间，不时有一群翩翩白鹭，时而延足栖落，时而长鸣冲天。给这幅壮美的大自然图画横添了一笔动感的美。
“下车仔细看吧！”姐姐提议着。“好主意！”我们大声响应着，纷纷下车下堤。在湖边驻足观赏。
只见，那如伞如盖的荷叶，有些像深山岫玉，绿极而蓝。给人以深沉和凝重。叶内掌持的颗颗水珠，晶莹剔透。随风滚动。时而坠落湖中，叮咚有声。让人不住地产生出灵魂碰撞时火花四迸般的酣畅淋漓。有些新叶，鲜亮碧绿，还来不及伸展。大概是青春的魅力吧，早早地招惹来多情的蜻蜓，不住地挑逗。活现了宋代诗人杨万里笔下的“小荷才露尖尖角，早有青蜓栖上头。”的情景。
不过，我觉得最美的还是那亭亭玉立的荷花。她不娇不媚，不妍不俗。色彩柔和适中，香气淡而袭人。含苞时，她红里透青，矜持羞怯。开放时，她含珠簇蕊，热情奔放。风起处，她和着海浪般的节拍，微微摇曳。把自己动人的红颜投射给庄重的墨绿氛围之中。此时，天地间仿佛飘动着缕缕粉红色的雾霭，整个荷海为之动容。……
此时，红日慢慢西坠.一抹灿烂的天锦，把天空、荷海和湖边观赏的我们统统染成了金色，活现出一幅天人合一的壮美景观！我们完全陶醉在这万顷荷海里，久久流连忘返。……
